'We Need to talk about Cultural Appropriation' Event Reading List

Events Editor, A M Dassu shares a
list of articles ahead of the highly anticipated SCBWI Pulse event, We Need to talk about Cultural
Appropriation.

On
Wednesday 8thFebruary, at the first Pulse event of 2017, SCBWI
members will be gathering to talk about Cultural Appropriation.

This
subject is a hot potato and has left many writers confused. Diversity is being
encouraged across publishing; it has long been agreed that publishing and books
need to change and 2016 saw a great shift in the way publishers are ensuring
that their books are more diverse. But what’s not clear is who can write those
characters in these books. Can you write a diverse character if you’re not from
the same background? If you did, is that wrong? Isn’t most fiction cultural
appropriation?

These
are all questions that will be discussed and debated at the event. Those of you that cannot attend, rest assured, Words & Pictures have you covered.

We
have a series of reports and opinion pieces due to be published - make
sure you don’t miss them!

In
the mean time, event organiser Candy Gourlay, and the event speakers have
compiled a list of articles that will help enlighten you on the subject.

For those of you
attending the event, please ensure you have read these articles BEFORE you arrive, so that everyone
participating is entering the discussion on the same page.

There
are plans to bring similar events to other SCBWI regions, so keep an
eye out for more SCBWI Events news later in the year.

READING LIST ON CULTURAL APPROPRIATION

·A great
summing up of how long existent diversity issues gained prominence over 2016. “Whose story gets told, and who gets
to tell it?”:

·A piece by our very own Costa
shortlisted author Patrice Lawrence, about understanding BAME peoples’ experiences,
supporting them by showing support and challenging racism and inequality by
using your ‘privilege’ to create change:Understand. Support. Challenge. by Patrice Lawrence

"Never underestimate what can be achieved by the combination of research and imagination."

*************************************************************

A. M. Dassu rediscovered
her love of writing for an audience three years ago. Since then she has become
a featured writer for The Huffington Post and written for
the Times Education Supplement. Her previous experience includes
project management, marketing and some editorial work at Reader’s
Digest. She has written five
picture books since becoming a SCBWI member and is currently editing a contemporary teen novel. She enjoys planning school
workshops and as a lover of hats, she spends a lot of her time choosing which
hat to wear.

A M Dassu is a member of the Words & Pictures editorial team, she manages
the Events team and SCBWI BI events coverage.
Contact her at events@britishscbwi.org

The tickets sold out within 24 hours, so many members are unable to attend. We will be publishing a report and a couple of opinion pieces, so hopefully you will be able to gain further insight on the subject later this month.

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